If the Philadelphia Phillies needed any extra motivation going into their three-game series against the New York Mets this weekend with the NL East lead on the line, they found it in Mike Schmidt. And it’s not just from the power of his luxurious mustache: he wrote the team an e-mail telling them that “the Mets know you’re better than they are.”

The results? So far, the Mets haven’t done anything to prove him wrong. They dropped the first game of the series 3-0 on Friday night, letting the Phillies pull to within two games of the division lead. Today’s game has been postponed because of Tropical Storm Hanna, leading to a huge doubleheader tomorrow.

Did the message matter? Probably not, although the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER says that one Phillies star appreciated the note:

“I read it,” first baseman Ryan Howard said. “It’s a perspective. They’re words of encouragement to kind of get out there and try to focus. That he would take time out of his schedule to write us a little something, to try to get us a little more locked in, we’re thankful for that. I’m thankful for it.”

The Mets downplayed the note, with Billy Wagner asking “Did Gary Carter send us one?” Based on Carter’s track record of never shutting up about anything, ever, I’m guess that he’s sent so many “encouraging” e-mails to the team this season that any messages from “ManPerm1986″ have been added to the Spam list.